M’sian field hospital in Cox’s Bazar to extend service period
SEPANG: The operation of the Malaysian field hospital in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, which caters to the medical needs of Rohingya refugees since Dec 1 last year, will continue until the end of this year, Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya said here.
He said a discussion would be held at the ministry level to plan the deployment of its staff to the field hospital in stages.
“The (deployment) plan was initially made for a threemonth period.
“Now that the operation of the field hospital will be extended until year’s end, a discussion needs to be convened to make new plans,” he told reporters after welcoming the return of the third team comprising 41 staff who had served at the field hospital in Cox’s Bazar, at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) here yesterday.
Earlier reports stated that the field hospital, coordinated by the Ministry of Health with support from the National Security Council, Foreign Ministry and Malaysian Armed Forces, would only be operational for three months, ending on Feb 16.
At present, Dr Hilmi said the Malaysian field hospital in Cox’s Bazar remained operational as there were nine logistic staff currently monitoring the situation and medical equipment.
The fourth team will be deployed after the discussion, he said.
On the operation of the field hospital between Dec 1, 2017, and Feb 14 this year, Dr Hilmi said they have managed to provide treatment to a total of 6,578 patients, carried out 218 surgeries and delivered 31 babies.
During the period, 144 staff from the ministry were deployed to Cox’s Bazar, with exchanges made every fortnight for specialist doctors, every month for the paramedics and every three months for the logistics staff, he said.
The humanitarian crisis in the Rakhine region in Myanmar became critical since August last year as more and more Rohingya refugees entered Bangladesh daily, causing many refugee camps to be set up.
Malaysia is the first country to set up a field hospital in Cox’s Bazar to cater to Rohingya refugees who fled west of Myanmar due to military operations.
To date, the actual number of Rohingya refugees cannot be confirmed but many claimed that there were more than a million refugees in Cox’s Bazar. — Bernama